Lulu Calendar Creator vs Photobox

Lulu Calendar Creator is a web tool for designing custom calendars for printing, including art, photo, and memory calendars. Users can build a project in the creator or upload a print-ready PDF. Calendars may cover 12 or 18 months, or a custom period, and can include national events, custom events, or imported dates from an ICS file. The tool accepts images for covers and individual months and offers four themes.

Printed calendars are US Letter landscape, 11 × 8.5 inches, with wire-O binding along the 11-inch edge. Creating a project online is free; users pay when ordering printed copies. Calendars can be printed for personal use, sold through the Lulu Bookstore, or linked to an ecommerce store through Lulu Direct. Lulu lists Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, and its Printing API as selling options. It recommends sRGB images at 300 dpi. The company says its printer network generally takes 3–5 business days to produce an order, with the cart displaying an order-specific estimate.

Photobox offers personalised photo products including photo books, wall décor, calendars, and gifts. Customers can build a photo book from a blank canvas, choose a themed design, or use Smart Assistant to select and place photos. Books come in multiple sizes and formats, with hardcover or softcover options and, on selected books, glossy or layflat pages. The app editor imports images from a device camera roll, Google Photos, Facebook, Instagram, and Dropbox. Downloadable Windows and Mac editors support offline project saving; the online editor saves projects online and is described as suited to small, simple books. The Android and iOS app lets customers create and order products on a mobile device. Photobox supports web, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, and photo books can have up to 60 pages. The service is paid, with a listed starting price of £12.99 and no free plan. Product prices exclude postage and packaging. Photobox was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The maker presents its products as keepsakes for personal use or gifts.